High strength and reusable zip fastener

ABSTRACT

A zip fastener for supporting one or more objects is provided. The zip fastener is specifically configured so that it can sustain high tensile loads, such as 500 pounds, before deformation begins to occur, and even higher tensile loads, such as 750 pounds, before failure occurs. The zip fastener includes a strap body that has a plurality of strap teeth. The zip fastener further includes a buckle that is connected to the strap body and includes a locking tab. Both the strap body and buckle are made from a nylon material. The locking tab is configured to releasably and selectively engage a portion of the plurality of strap teeth.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional application No. 62/848,015, filed May 15, 2019, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to straps with integrated fasteners for holding items and, more particularly, to a high-strength, reusable strap with an integrated fastener for holding large items.

Conventional cable/zip fasteners (also referred to as cable ties and zip ties) cannot be used in applications where high tensile strength (e.g. greater than 250 pounds) is required because they are typically designed for low load applications, such as tying cables together. Conventional zip fasteners are also not suitable for applications that require the tie/strap portion to extend around a larger object or item(s). They are also not releasable at the buckle portion so as to be reusable, resulting in the creation of unnecessary waste and the need to acquire a replacement zip fastener when it is needed for another application.

As can be seen, there is a need for a high-strength, reusable strap with an integrated fastener for holding large items.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, a zip fastener for supporting one or more objects includes the following: a strap body comprising a plurality of strap teeth; and a buckle connected to the strap body and including a locking tab configured to releasably and selectively engage a portion of the plurality of strap teeth, the strap body and the buckle comprising a nylon material and having greater than 250 pounds of tensile strength in an engaged position and an unengaged position, wherein, when the portion of the plurality of strap teeth and the locking tab are engaged with one another, the strap body and the buckle are configured to withstand approximately 500 pounds of loading before beginning to deform, wherein the strap body and the buckle are configured to have approximately 500 pounds of tensile strength, wherein, when the portion of the plurality of strap teeth and the locking tab are engaged with one another, the strap body or the buckle is configured to fail or break at approximately 750 pounds of loading, wherein the strap body and the buckle are directly coaxially connected to one another, and a cumulative length of the strap body and the buckle is between 23 and 24 inches, wherein the locking tab is releasable such that the buckle and the strap body are capable of being connected and disconnected a plurality of times without a significant decrease in the greater than 250 pounds of tensile strength, wherein the buckle defines a strap receiving opening for receiving the strap body, and the strap body comprises a first end connected to the buckle, the locking tab extending away from the strap receiving opening and towards the first end of the strap body, wherein the buckle defines a substrate mold opening and the locking tab comprises a plurality of ratcheting locking teeth configured to directly engage the portion of the plurality of strap teeth, the substrate mold opening and the ratcheting locking teeth being disposed adjacent one another, wherein the locking tab comprises at least four ratcheting locking teeth; and a guide comprising a strap guide body and defining two openings, the guide being detachably connected to a lateral side of the buckle.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the embodiment of the present invention, shown in a closed loop;

FIG. 4 is a section view of the embodiment of the present invention, taken along line 4-4 from FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged section view of the locking tab and ratcheting teeth of the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a bottom perspective view of the alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an exploded bottom perspective view of the alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an example configuration of the alternate embodiment of the present invention, in use; and

FIG. 10 is a section view of the embodiment of the present invention, taken along line 10-10 from FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Broadly, one embodiment of the present invention provides a zip fastener that secures, repairs, or connects items in a semi-permanent manner with a high degree of strength. With the embodiment described herein, a user can easily secure items via the zip fastener, with 500-750 pounds of tensile pull/load strength prior to failure occurring, effortlessly and in a short amount of time (e.g. in seconds). Furthermore, the present invention, by its unique buckle design, allows the fastener to be released so that the embodiment of the present invention may be reused, as needed. Because of the ability to withstand high amounts of tensile stress, the present invention may be used as a connector/fastener for a single item or a plurality of items and may also be used as a component in a larger assembly of items/objects where high stress levels exist.

Referring to FIGS. 1-5, an embodiment of the present invention may include a zip fastener having a strap body 10, a buckle 12, and a tongue/strap tail 14. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the strap body 10 may wrap around such that the strap tail 14 may be inserted through the buckle 12 via a strap receiving opening 22 to form a loop. The strap tail 14 may be slightly inclined to more easily facilitate insertion of the strap tail 14 into the strap receiving opening 22. Engagement between the strap body 10 and buckle 12 is achieved by complementary strap teeth 16 and a locking (or releasing) tab 18.

In use, as the strap body 10 is pushed through the buckle 12 to the desired position, ratcheting locking teeth 20 on the locking tab 18 engage with respective strap teeth 16, as shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 4, the ratcheting locking teeth 20 may include at least four teeth (that each engage in a respective recess defined by the strap teeth 16, as shown in FIG. 5) to increase the overall tensile load capacity of the zip fastener. The locking tab 18 may be released by lifting up on a distal end of the locking tab 18, as shown by the single arrow and dashed lines of the locking tab 18 in FIG. 5, thereby releasing the strap body 10 from the buckle 12 in whichever direction needed (such as to completely undo the loop created and use the zip fastener for another purpose), as shown by the double arrow in FIG. 5. Consequently, the zip fastener can be used a number of times for different applications without the need for a new zip fastener (i.e., without comprising the tensile strength of the strap body 10 and buckle 12). On the buckle 12, there is further provided a substrate mold opening 24, the advantages of which will be made more apparent further below.

As previously described, the present invention is design specifically to support significantly higher tensile loads than previously possible with conventional designs. The embodiment described herein is capable of supporting up to 500 pounds of loading (i.e., it has a tensile pull strength of 500 pounds) before deformation begins to onset and does not fail or otherwise break completely until approximately 750 pounds of loading. No other known zip fastener designs are capable of this high performance and durability. Not only can it support loads 2-3 times the maximum load of other “heavy duty” zip fasteners, it is also releasable, offering a combination of high performance and reusability that does not otherwise exist.

In order to make a high strength and reusable zip fastener in accordance with present invention, the following exemplary dimensions are provided herein. It will be appreciated that the dimensions may be modified (such as enlarged), by one with skill in the art, in accordance with the present invention, such that a zip fastener with comparable tensile load performance (or even greater performance) may be fabricated. It should be noted that “height” may refer to the vertical direction relative to FIG. 4, “length” may refer to the horizontal direction relative to FIG. 4, and “width” may refer to the direction perpendicular to the vertical and horizontal directions. In certain embodiments, the zip fastener may have an overall length of approximately 600 millimeters (mm), such as 596.9 mm (or slightly under 24 inches). The overall length of the buckle 12 may be approximately 50 mm, such as 48 mm, and the overall width of the buckle 12 may be, for example, approximately 26 mm, such as 25.9 mm. The height of the buckle 12 may be, for example, approximately 15-16 mm. The height of the opening 22 in the buckle 12 may be, for example, approximately 4 mm, and the width of the opening 22 may be approximately 21 mm, such as 20.7 mm. The section beneath the locking tab 18 (relative to FIG. 4) where the ratcheting locking teeth 20 are disposed on the buckle 12 may have an overall height of approximately 3.7 mm and width of 12 mm, for example, while the free distal end of the locking tab 18 may have a height of approximately 3.5 mm, again, for example. The height of the strap body 10 may be, for example, approximately 3.5 mm. The width of strap teeth 16 may be, for example, approximately 12 mm (such as 12.1 mm). Other potential dimensions may be readily identified using the disclosure provided herein. While the design described herein may be scaled up to even larger sizes, the present disclosure has been found to a good balance between size (such that the buckle does not become so large that it is not operable by hand) and strength (500 pounds is likely sufficient strength for most applications).

In accordance with certain aspects of the present invention, the zip fastener may be fabricated out of nylon, via injection molding, as a single piece. In certain embodiments, nylon is the only material used to form the zip fastener. The substrate mold opening 24 is specifically provided to allow the embodiment of the present invention to be manufactured as a single piece with the strength profile herein described. Nylon is a preferable material choice due to, among other things, lower costs associated with manufacturing, and, as described above, nylon still achieves high tensile strength performance when configured in accordance with the present invention. However, any suitable material may be selected provided that the tensile strength of the zip fastener is not negatively impacted. With that being said, using certain materials would increase the strength significantly using the design described herein. However, the costs of production would increase, making embodiments of the present invention less cost-effective for consumers but potentially valuable for specific industrial uses.

Other than looped configurations, the present invention also readily provides the ability to create a linear zip fastener assembly of a plurality of zip fasteners to increase the overall length of the zip fastener assembly, thus adding further utility to the present invention. This would be achieved by connecting a buckle 12 of one zip fastener to a strap body 10 of an adjacent zip fastener in the same fashion as described above. This zip fastener assembly may be used in linear form (to form a longer strap) or may be looped around, where its ends are connected (in the same manner as described above) to retain, support or otherwise secure one or more objects.

Referring now to FIGS. 6-10, a similar, but slightly modified, embodiment of a zip fastener to that of FIGS. 1-5 is disclosed. The zip fastener of FIGS. 6-10 functions and is made in the same manner as described above, with a guide 26 being further incorporated. The guide includes a strap guide body 28 and a pair of openings 30 oriented at a 90-degree angle relative to each other. A break off tab 32 connects the guide 26 to a respective buckle 12, as shown in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 8, to use the guide 26, it may be broken off from the buckle 12. As shown in FIGS. 8-10, a first strap tail 14 of a first zip fastener may be extended through a first opening 30 of the guide 26, and a second strap tail 14 of a second zip fastener may be extended through a second opening 30 of the guide 26. The first and second strap tails 14 may then be extended through respective first and second buckles 12, as described above, to create a pair of looped zip fasteners, as shown in FIG. 9, with the guide 26 providing support for both zip fasteners. The resulting structure may be used to support an even wider variety of object shapes since the resulting structure provides support in multiple planes. As will be readily apparent to one with skill in the art, these loops may incorporate multiple zip fasteners in a similar manner as described above to accommodate objects of various sizes.

As has been previously described, the present invention provides a unique solution for reliability in a zip fastener that is also capable of sustaining very high levels of tensile stress, while further being manufactured in an affordable way. It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the present invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A zip fastener for supporting one or more objects, the zip fastener comprising: a strap body comprising a plurality of strap teeth; and a buckle connected to the strap body and including a locking tab configured to releasably and selectively engage a portion of the plurality of strap teeth, the strap body and the buckle comprising a nylon material and having greater than 250 pounds of tensile strength in an engaged position and in an unengaged position.
 2. The zip fastener for supporting one or more objects according to claim 1, wherein, when the portion of the plurality of strap teeth and the locking tab are engaged with one another, the strap body and the buckle are configured to withstand approximately 500 pounds of loading before beginning to deform.
 3. The zip fastener for supporting one or more objects according to claim 1, wherein the strap body and the buckle are configured to have approximately 500 pounds of tensile strength.
 4. The zip fastener for supporting one or more objects according to claim 3, wherein, when the portion of the plurality of strap teeth and the locking tab are engaged with one another, the strap body or the buckle is configured to fail or break at approximately 750 pounds of loading.
 5. The zip fastener for supporting one or more objects according to claim 1, wherein the strap body and the buckle are directly coaxially connected to one another, and a cumulative length of the strap body and the buckle is between 23 and 24 inches.
 6. The zip fastener for supporting one or more objects according to claim 1, wherein the locking tab is releasable such that the buckle and the strap body are capable of being connected and disconnected a plurality of times without a significant decrease in the greater than 250 pounds of tensile strength.
 7. The zip fastener for supporting one or more objects according to claim 6, wherein the buckle defines a strap receiving opening for receiving the strap body, and the strap body comprises a first end connected to the buckle, the locking tab extending away from the strap receiving opening and towards the first end of the strap body.
 8. The zip fastener for supporting one or more objects according to claim 7, wherein the buckle defines a substrate mold opening and the locking tab comprises a plurality of ratcheting locking teeth configured to directly engage the portion of the plurality of strap teeth, the substrate mold opening and the ratcheting locking teeth being disposed adjacent one another.
 9. The zip fastener for supporting one or more objects according to claim 1, wherein the locking tab comprises at least four ratcheting locking teeth.
 10. The zip fastener for supporting one or more objects according to claim 1, the zip fastener further comprising: a guide comprising a strap guide body and defining two openings, the guide being detachably connected to a lateral side of the buckle. 